i Profumi di Firenze's Brezza di Mare (Or, I've Peaked)

Being relatively new to exploring and enjoying fragrances, I fear I may have just peaked. As of today, I haven't seen this frag reviewed anywhere but it is listed as expected in April and is exclusive to Barney's. All of which I found out after getting home.

I was in Barney's San Francisco store yesterday; and a great SA, Jonathan, asked if there was anything he could help with. I asked to see their iPdiF scents and he took me right over. We talked a little (he's knowledgeable and informative without being condescending or pushy) and he suggested trying the one that had just come in, Brezza di Mare, based on my preferences.

A spritz on a sample card came across as a beautiful, light marine fragrance. An immediate image of the ocean came to mind. It was light and clean. On that sample alone, I bought. And feel so damned lucky to have made that decision.

After returning to the office, I marched off to the men's room, stuck the atomizer in the bottle, and gave my freshly washed wrists a quick spritz each. WOW!

This scent grabs the back of my head - it's an almost limbic reaction. Not in a heavy or POW! way - it just seems to bypass all the gray matter between my nose and the back of my brain. 99% of frags seem to elicit a reaction from the front of the head. Brezza di Mare is just an amazing experience for me.

My amateur impression:

Marine without being Cool Water. Light and refreshing; not cloying or reminiscent of a bathtub of water in a dank, old house. Scent wise, I can't pick out all the notes yet. My mental response:

A patio at a villa on the Adriatic overlooking the sea, just outside Ravenna. The feel of the warmth of the burnt umber stones beneath, white linen table cloths, sun sparkling off an early afternoon sea, a soft breeze carrying a faint scent of the sea, fruit orchards, and star jasmine, intoxicating yet light, sensual yet clean. Almost as good as sex.

Nice sillage without huge projection. Longevity is very good - at least 12 hours of a nice, slow fadeout . The top notes lasted a good two hours. The middle notes pulsed (for an hour or so) between a white floral, suntanned and muscular bodies, and grapefruit/watermelon before settling back down into a tamer version of the top notes.

Brezza is unisex in a different way. I would say there's nothing about it that is "unmasculine" nor "unfeminine". It would be a fine scent for the office or casual. Not really a formal scent for an evening out. But could be a scent for playtime afterward!

I may have actually found an entire house of frags that I like. Agrumi di Sicilia from this house is my favorite citrus (limes). At Barney's, I sniffed their Amber and Myrrh and found them quite nice. A sample set of some others is coming early next week and I'm nearly beside myself in trying to be patient.